Rand's Anthem

Chapter 11

I am. I think. I will.

My hands...My spirit...My sky...My forest...This earth of mine...

What must I say besides? These are the words. This is the answer.

I stand here on the summit of the moutain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. This, my body and spirit, this is the end of the quest. I wished to know the meaning of things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a warrant for being. I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and sanction.

It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes gives beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgement of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will that chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.

Many words have been granted me, and some are wise, and some are false, but only three are holy: "I will it!"

Whatever road I take, the guiding star is within me; the guiding star and the loadstone which point the way. They point in but one direction. They point to me.

I know not if this earth on which I stand is the core of the universe or if it is but a speck of dust lost in eternity. I know not and I care not. For I know what happiness is possible to me on earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.

Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. i am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice for their altars.

I am neither foe nor friend to others, but such as each of them shall deserve of me. And to earn my love, they must do more than to have been born. I do not grant my love without reason, nor to any chance passer-by who may wish to claim it. I honor with my love. But honor is a thing to be earned.

And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.

This god, this one word:

"I".